Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Pillman

She's The Man -A charming high school comedy - nothing new- and it mostly gets by cuz of the goofy lines by supporting actors David Cross,Vinnie Jones and Julie Haggerty.Now my problem with most modern comedies- I have to wait for laughs- in between wincing at the stereotypical punchlines and pratfalls.Although this movie's main gimmick is the gender switiching by the main character- this movie exists in the sexless limbo that parents want to think their teens inhabit- sure the characters want to date and kiss- but there is no mention of any other sexual curiosity or practices-.Basically Amanda Bynes wants to play soccer - but her school has cut the funding for the girl's squad- meanwhile her twin brother is going to the UK with his band and needs her to cover for his absence from school( that happens to be the school her current school is playing in soccer).The first 10 minutes of this movie were hard to digest - but once I got into the spirit of the proceedings (suspension of disbelief needed) I enjoyed my self with a few chuckles and enough entertainment to carry me through the proceedings. C+Brian Pillman:Loose Cannon - The most recent WWE career retrospective DVD on yet another grappler that died young- so of course the end of the main package is very maudlin.The meat of this 2 DVD set is the extras- matches from Pillman's career from his early days in Stampede Wrestling to WCW and WWF.Excellent stuff from his 5 star match with Jushin "Thunder" Liger to War Games matches to the superb Canadian Stampede 10 man tag.The DVD also has the infamous Gun Incident,his ECW shoot appearances and Hollywood Blonde segments.This is a great collection for any fan of wrestling fans who were watching during the Monday Night Wars. The main hour and a half is ok - but most fans will enjoy the 16 extra matches and segments like Flare For The Old. A+Wake Up Screaming -a 1941 flim noir flick starring Victor Mature,Carol Landis and Betty Grable is a murder-mystery.Mature plays promoter Frankie Christopher who decides to turn a hashslinging watiress to the next It girl in NYC- his plan works too well when she decides she is big enough to go to tinseltown- soon after her announcement she is found.....dead.The real star of the movie is the creepy homicide detective Laird Cregar who is certain that Christopher is the murderer.The DVD also has a deleted scene - Betty Grable at work - who all the sudden breaks into song singing "Daddy"- while the scene works on it's own - it would have totally gone against the character Grable was playing in the movie.The DVD also a good commentary track by film historian Eddie Muller- lots of information and he seems to really love this flick. A+